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Cristiano Ronaldo And Sir Alex Ferguson's £400 Bet At Manchester United

Cristiano Ronaldo And Sir Alex Ferguson's £400 Bet At Manchester United

Ronaldo once caused his manager and long-time mentor to cough up...

Josh Lawless

Josh Lawless

Sir Alex Ferguson's way of dealing with Cristiano Ronaldo at Manchester United was genius and one particular story of how he motivated the Portuguese superstar has started doing the rounds again.

Following on from the 2006 World Cup in Germany, Ronaldo was in really good shape and had a £400 bet with his manager involving his Premier League goals tally.

Fergie would get the money if Ronaldo didn't score 15 goals in the league, while Ronaldo would get a tidy payment as well as some serious bragging rights.

Fast forward to December 2006 and Ronaldo had already banged in 13 goals. Of course, he didn't forget the bet he had made.

Image: PA
Image: PA

"To beat the manager is my ambition and I want to carry on," Ronaldo said after scoring in a 3-1 win over Aston Villa in January 2007.

"I want to score more goals."

When February rolled around, Ronaldo notched goal number fifteen from the spot in a 4-0 thrashing of Spurs at White Hart Lane.

Image: PA
Image: PA

Ferguson was quizzed on the "bittersweet feeling" of Ronaldo scoring and produced a priceless reaction post-match.

"Penalties don't count!" Ferguson told Geoff Shreeves, before quipping: "Oh well, I'll need to go to the bank I think."

Ronaldo was starting to find a whole new level performance-wise though and Ferguson couldn't help but express his pride at his improvements.

"The boy has come on great, the courage to play and he always wants the ball. I thought he was a bit careless in the early part of the match, but he improved by getting more of the ball.

"He's not the kind of player who can play on the fringes, he's got to be involved all the time."

Ronaldo finished the league campaign on 17 goals as United regained the title and he would go up another notch the following year when he hit 42 goals in all competitions - including 31 in the league - on the way to winning the Champions League and Ballon d'Or.

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Topics: Football News, Football, Manchester United, Sir Alex Ferguson, Cristiano Ronaldo